Chrismukkah

(KRIS.muh.kuh)

n.

A holiday celebration that combines elements of both Christmas and Hanukkah, particularly in households that have both Christian and Jewish members.

Example Citations:

TiVos are working overtime at 9 p.m. because of this mammoth matchup: ABC's The Bachelor vs. NBC's The West Wing vs. CBS' The King of Queens vs. Fox's The O.C. While the three vets notched nice Nielsens (Nos. 18, 16, and 27), let's also give props to the new kid for crashing the top 40 in 18-to-49. "This network has been looking for its next 90210," says Beckman. "The O.C. is multigenerational. It has strong parental figures. And it's got a bunch of hot teens who are on the pages of everything." Happy Chrismukkah, guys.

— Dan Snierson, "Legends of the Fall," Entertainment Weekly, December 19, 2003

— "Do they know it's Chrismukkah?," RollingStone.com, December 11, 2003

Earliest Citation:

Osheroff, 31, said: "I want to give our children the best of both worlds. We'll have Hanukkah and we'll have Christmas. We'll celebrate Passover and Easter."

She said others in her family celebrate "Hallmark holidays with Easter bunny and Santa ... but with Dan's family and background, I would like my children to know the religious holidays."

Their vow of shared holidays has already led to their "Chrismukkah" tree, the December pine tree decorated with the star of David and other Hanukkah symbols as well as Christmas ornaments.

— Mary Adamski, "Couple’s engagement brings twist of faiths," Honolulu Star-Bulletin, March 27, 1999

Notes:

This blend of Christmas and Hanukkah has been in the air of late thanks to its use on the Fox TV show The O.C., which aired an episode titled "The Best Chrismukkah Ever" on December 3. The word has been around for a while, however, as the earliest citation shows. Note, too, that Chrismukkah also shows up in Usenet newsgroups as far back as 1996.

Related Words:

Christmas creep

Christmas tree allergy

Falloween

Matzoh Ball

tofurkey

turducken

unturkey

Category:

Religion